Alkoxides of divalent metals are generally capable of preparation by the reaction of an elemental metal with an alcohol. The preparation of zinc alkoxides by the foregoing method has generally been unsuccessful. Moreover, many simple alkoxides of zinc have little or no solubility in organic solvents.
The difficulty of preparation and the relative insolubility of simple zinc alkoxides is disadvantageous for processes where it is desirable to form solutions having intimately mixed metal alkoxide solutes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,666 describes reaction products of aluminum reacted with alkoxy alcohols that have utility as catalysts. Alloys of aluminum with a list of metals including zinc are proposed as reactants for catalyst alkoxide formation (Col. 5, line 36).
It is desirable to provide new methods of preparing organic solvent soluble alkoxides of zinc.